Normal shaving practice involves preparation of the beard by application of a shaving cream. One purpose of this preparation is to soften the beard by retaining water on the face. A second purpose of the shaving cream is to serve as a lubricating agent so that the shaving element will glide smoothly over the face. However, during shaving it is often necessary to repeatedly stroke the same area of the face after the shaving cream is removed by the first stroke, thereby denying successive strokes the aid of the lubrication provided by the shaving cream. Thus, it is often necessary to apply additional quantities of shaving cream.
It is also known in the art that a reduction in the frictional forces encountered between blade and whiskers during shaving can be obtained, at least to some extent, by applying to the cutting edge coatings of certain polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,856 to I. W. Fischbein and organosiloxanes disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,976 to L. E. Granahan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,417 to Wetherbee discloses blade coatings containing a wax and a "surface active material". Wetherbee disclosed that components of the wax and the "surface active material" may be "slightly soluble in water".
It is also known that the application of certain water-soluble polymers to the face serves to facilitate shaving.